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What? Why?


fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
                Have you ever considered what was going through Jesus’ mind on the way to Jerusalem? During the walk to Golgotha? I know that the pain, and the anticipation of the pain must have been beyond explanation. From the research I’ve read, the word excruciating comes from the practice of crucifixion. But somehow, Jesus took both those journeys.  I’m told child-birth is also painful, but women face it willingly. Soldiers go off to fight in strange lands, risking life, limb, and sanity in what amounts to a hell. 
                In Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, he contends that when one knows one’s why one can endure any how. Given that he survived a German concentration camp in World War II, I think his claim should be given at least a little consideration. So, how did Jesus go to Jerusalem, get Himself arrested, beaten, and crucified? Yes, He was and is God, but He was also fully human, and the pain didn’t disappear. 
                What today’s passage tells us is that He not only had a why. He had a big why. Just on the other side of the crucifixion, joy was waiting for Him. On the other side of the crucifixion was the seat at the right hand of the throne of God. And, while Scripture doesn’t say so, I believe that you and I were on the other side of the crucifixion. Put another way, the crucifixion was the means by which we could be on the other side of the crucifixion.
                As we look at our lives, with the pain that sometimes seems to fill it, it can be hard to think about the why. What our society teaches us is that pain is bad and must be prevented or fixed. But what if the pain that life brings us is a necessary component? What if it is the only way to gain the joy set before us? Several years ago, I learned that if you help a butterfly escape from its cocoon, you will likely kill the butterfly because it Is the struggle to escape that builds strength in the wings so it can fly. What harm are we doing to one another by trying to take away their pain?
                So, of course, now the question must be asked: What Is your why? What is my why? For what are we willing to face the pain we face in life? For what will we keep going when doing so gets hard?

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